“I think it’s going to be important for us to protect our homecourt,” Myles Turner said, going into Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The 29-year-old Center was, without a doubt, a major factor in the Pacers’ win in Game 1. While he slightly improved upon that performance in Game 2, the Pacers still lost. Therefore, to give the Pacers a push, the player looked to make the best use of the home-court advantage. Unfortunately, while he played a part in that effort in Game 3, unexpected complications might prevent him from doing so for Game 4.

In the aftermath of the Indiana Pacers’ 116-107 win, Rick Carlisle participated in a presser. At the same time, a reporter highlighted that Myles Turner seemed to be struggling throughout the game. He questioned how the players can be kept mentally ready to deal with tough situations. This led the head coach to say, “Well, Myles is under the weather, and, um, he may not even be with us tomorrow. Um, he’s just…. hasn’t been feeling well the last couple of days. It was affecting his wind. Um, he won’t bring it up, but, you know, I think it’s just appropriate to mention that, that he is working through something. Um, some kind of a cold, or whatever, but he’s just not feeling himself.” Yikes!

According to reports, it was evident right from the early stages of Game 3 that Myles Turner’s energy levels weren’t on point. He struggled to get a hold on loose balls, got only 2 rebounds, and scored only 9 points despite being on the court for 30 minutes. The player wasn’t efficient even on fast breaks. Fortunately, Turner also blocked 5 shots, which prevented the Oklahoma City Thunder from either catching up to the Indiana Pacers or further extending the lead that they held in the earlier parts of the game. Now, the coach has made it clear that the 29-year-old’s condition might not even allow him to practice with the team, let alone be ready to play in the next home game.

Turner’s low performance didn’t come in the way of Tyrese Haliburton and Co. making use of home court advantage and winning a 2nd game in the NBA Finals. They had a great bench production, with the team going 10 players deep into their rotation in Game 3. However, while they might have been effective for Game 3, there is no guarantee that the same will replicate during Game 4. Furthermore, the Oklahoma City Thunder squad will certainly account for Turner’s absence. In light of this, the Indiana Pacers have some changes to make.

What steps will Rick Carlisle and the Pacers squad take to cover for Myles Turner’s absence?

According to reports, Myles Turner may take a rest day between Game 3 and Game 4. Each game of the series till now has had 2 full days of rest for players from both teams. Unfortunately, Game 4 has only one day in between contests. Therefore, while there is no confirmation on how long the player will be gone from the main lineup, it is safe to say that his availability for Game 4 is ‘questionable.’

Therefore, in his absence, we can expect the Pacers’ secondary center, Thomas Bryant, to see an increase in minutes. Bryant had previously covered for Turner when the latter was recovering from a head injury. In the last 3 games before the All-Star break, Bryant averaged 13.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. Certainly better than the 6.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists he had averaged throughout the 2024-25 season, since he had received more playing time.

While Thomas Bryant did his best at that time, the Pacers still went 1-2. They almost entered the All-Star break on a three-game losing streak. According to 8 pts 9 secs reporter Elie Deglaoui, the Pacers looked sloppy and lacked on both sides of the ball without Myles Turner. It is safe to say that the Pacers won’t be the same without the starter. However, will the situation be as bad as before? That is something that remains to be seen.